$12 million Texas lottery jackpot unclaimed

Somebody lost millions of dollars Monday evening that they probably never knew was theirs.

Six months after beating astronomical odds to win the Lotto Texas jackpot, the simultaneously lucky and cursed person failed to materialize before a deadline to redeem the winning ticket — officially worth $12 million, and $7.5 million in immediate cash.

It was biggest unclaimed Lotto prize since 2001 and the third largest since the game started in 1992, according to the Texas Lottery Commission.

"It's very unfortunate," commission spokeswoman Kelly Cripe said in a remark worthy of consideration for understatement of the year.

The purchaser got the golden ticket at a South Shore Shell gas station on FM 518 in League City, but likely lost it or otherwise never knew it was a winner, said lottery officials, who held their Houston and Austin offices open an extra hour in a fruitless attempt to help on the 180th and final day the prize could be claimed.

Instead, the unclaimed money, like most lottery revenue, will go to the state's Foundation School Program. That fund is the main vehicle for distributing roughly $16.7 billion annually to public schools, Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Lauren Callahan said.

More than $837 million in unclaimed lottery prizes have reverted to the state budget since 1995, although much of that has come in much smaller amounts from scratch-off games.

The state lottery system, formed in 1992 with the six-number Lotto Texas as its original jackpot game, now also includes the multi-state Powerball and Mega Millions games. The system brought in $4.4 billion in the last fiscal year, distributing $2.8 billion to winners and $1.2 billion to the state budget, including $1.1 billion to the Foundation School Fund.

"At least the schools will get the (unclaimed) money. That's a good thing," said Shawn Mohammed, 32, manager of the Shell station that sold the winning ticket.

The station got $121,000 from the state in March as a prize for selling the ticket, and Mohammed said business has picked up since.

On Monday evening, it bustled with customers.

"This is a very lucky store," said Rashad Harris, 28, of League City, who said he buys a ticket there almost every day. "This store stays open 24 hours, so you've got a chance of getting a lucky streak anytime here."

Still, the manager recognized that the luck turned cruel for whoever bought the ticket that officially became a winner on Jan. 1.

"I just feel very bad for this person, because whoever it might be, they lost out on opportunity of a lifetime," Mohammed said. "Twelve million dollars doesn't just come easily to anybody."

Gail Howard, a lottery expert and head of a Florida-based company that promises to "turn a game of luck into a game of skill," said unclaimed tickets have been a long-running problem in lotteries across the country.

Often, Howard said, winners misplace their tickets or forget to see if they won. She recommended lottery players establish a routine of putting all tickets in one place and regularly checking them.

"Every ticket should be treated as if it is a jackpot-winning ticket," she said.

In Texas, state records show that it is common for lottery winners to wait to claim prizes. The record wait for Lotto Texas was 159 days for a $3.5 million ticket sold in 2008.

Unclaimed jackpots are relatively rare; Monday's was only the eighth in Lotto Texas history. The record for the biggest unclaimed prize is a $40 million jackpot sold at Stone Creek Mini Mart in Flower Mound in 1994.

Jackpots wins are relatively rare, as well. There only have been two so far in 2014 - the Jan. 1 one that officially went unclaimed Monday, and a $36.25 million ticket sold at a Stripes Convenience Store in Cuero on May 31.

One month later, state officials noted, that prize has not yet been claimed.

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How could someone just let a multi million dollar winning ticket go unclaimed?! If people are not going to check their tickets, then why are they playing in the first place? What a colossal waste!! I can't think of a logical excuse to how this could happen other then the winner either losing the ticket or having a heart attack before telling anyone he or she won.

Mine too. I had written a too-lengthy reply telling about some of the tickets I had lost - blown away when I opened the vehicle door, covered up by stuff on my desk, fell out of my coat pocket, etc. but decided I was blathering on. (as I'm sometimes prone to do) Now I put them in one of those freebie blue Texas Lotto "wallets" they sometimes hand out at lottery retailers.

Mine too. I had written a too-lengthy reply telling about some of the tickets I had lost - blown away when I opened the vehicle door, covered up by stuff on my desk, fell out of my coat pocket, etc. but decided I was blathering on. (as I'm sometimes prone to do) Now I put them in one of those freebie blue Texas Lotto "wallets" they sometimes hand out at lottery retailers.

Mike I got a couple of those blue Texas lotto wallets. I really like them it keeps the ticket secure.

Mike I got a couple of those blue Texas lotto wallets. I really like them it keeps the ticket secure.

I'm always misplacing things and have been trying to become more organized. I used to date a woman who was a Zig Zigglar devotee and she told me a cluttered house makes for a cluttered life and mind. I dunno 'bout that, but I have a hard time keeping the clutter out of my house. (and I later decided that woman was clutter in my life)

A couple yrs. back I had gone to the grocery store, had been craving a good homemade burger. I had stopped at another store before I went to the grocery store and got home, went into my bedroom to drop off the non-perishable items I needed to put up, then went into the kitchen to put up the things that needed to go in the fridge. The next day, I wanted to make my burger, but I couldn't find the meat and I figured the sack boy just hadn't put it in with the other stuff and I'd have to go tell the manager what had happened. (had happened before, he knows me and knows I wouldn't try to bilk them out of something.) A couple days later, I realized I hadn't bought my lottery tickets and it was getting close to drawing time, so I grabbed my jacket and went out the door. I got into my truck and smelled something funky, decided a mouse must've died under the seat. Got to the store where I buy my tickets and when I got out, the fresh air was nice. I got in line with some others, but people were backing away from me and I figured the smell had got on my clothes. I got home w/ my tickets, started to throw my jacket down on a "catch-all" table and saw a plastic sack....I picked it up, opened it and nearly gagged....it was the hamburger meat, totally rotten. No wonder my jacked reeked of death.

How could someone just let a multi million dollar winning ticket go unclaimed?! If people are not going to check their tickets, then why are they playing in the first place? What a colossal waste!! I can't think of a logical excuse to how this could happen other then the winner either losing the ticket or having a heart attack before telling anyone he or she won.

The lottery gods have a really weird and twisted sense of humor. This is a real shame. A life-changing amount of money that everyone who plays the lottery would be happy to win, up in smoke.

"I believe in luck. How else can you explain the success of those you dislike?" - Jean Cocteau

"A gambler with a system must be, to a greater or lesser extent, insane." - George Augustus Sala (1828-1895)

Mine too. I had written a too-lengthy reply telling about some of the tickets I had lost - blown away when I opened the vehicle door, covered up by stuff on my desk, fell out of my coat pocket, etc. but decided I was blathering on. (as I'm sometimes prone to do) Now I put them in one of those freebie blue Texas Lotto "wallets" they sometimes hand out at lottery retailers.

I have one of those, too. I store my pick slips and lottery budget in those. My tickets are kept in a red envelope with a few good luck charms and a fortune cookie fortune that reads "May you grow rich". ;)

I had all 6 winning numbers on 2 lines last night. 4 on the first line, 2 on the next. And the 2 numbers wrong on the first line were 1 off.

I pulled the numbers off LP's RNG.

Well, there's the next draw on Saturday.

Wow I've never got that close in any game

All different numbers? $924 from being a millionaire!

If the chances of winning the jackpot are so slim, why play when the jackpot is so small? Your chances never change, but the payoff does. If a crystal ball showed you the future of the rest of your life, and in that future you will never win a jackpot, would you still play?

I have one of those, too. I store my pick slips and lottery budget in those. My tickets are kept in a red envelope with a few good luck charms and a fortune cookie fortune that reads "May you grow rich". ;)

Ever played the numbers on a fortune cookie slip? I love Chinese food and used to eat it often until I had to slack off the carbs. I've played the numbers and never had a bit of luck. One of the largest suppliers of fortune cookies has a plant here in Texas; not sure how their sales are going now since an unfortunate accident.